Analysis of the dual character of Heathcliff
Abstract: The narrative of Wuthering Heights is a story of love and hatred. Many of the comments concentrate mainly on the human nature shown in the book, both on the pleasant and desperate side. It is the hero's unique charm of the dual personality characteristics that reflects the Victorian Britain's social reality - bourgeois human inequality, also results that the distortion of human nature.
Key words: Wuthering Heights; Heathcliff; The dual character; Revenge
Wuthering Heights is a treasure in the English literature garden.It is a description of the soul-stirring love story of romantic works,also is the pursuit and shouting of freedom. The novel says a love tragedy that occurs in the wilderness mountain, and the resentment imbroglio of Wuthering Heights and thrushcross grange two families located in the wilderness up and down for nearly half a century, which embodies a strong against the spirit and pagan spirit.
“Emily loves wasteland. In her eyes, the gloomy heath will open more beautiful than the rose flower; in her mind, a dark valley of a leaden hillside will be a paradise on earth. She find many good fun in the desolate loneliness- First love is free.”[1]As the beginning of a novel described the tree of wilderness, it is distorted abnormal, but most do not add modification, natural generated.All of Heathcliff is caused by the environment, he is the tree of wilderness, and efforts to survive and resists the violent storm , after he becomes the ugly, he revenge and against the harsh environment with ugly. And the name of heathcliff consists of \" wasteland covered by heather \" and \"steep cliff\author‟s personal color.
Heathcliff was adopted by Catherine‟s father. They live in Wuthering Heights, where Heathcliff and Catherine spent their early years together. The time of their childhood is the beginning and foundation of their lifelong lasting love. Catherine had had a kind of „wondrous constancy to old attachments‟. She tended to rely on old things and old people. Heathcliff was influenced by environmental people's
discrimination and abuse. After the death of Catherine‟s father, the son, Hindley Enshaw inherited the fortune and took charge of the house and the family. He treated Heathcliff as a servant, not allowe Heathcliff to close and speak to Catherine, and refused to indulge the young lovers‟ spending time together. Accidentally, Catherine became acquainted with the Linton‟s settling in Thrushcross Grange. She fell for the elegant life and lost herself in vanity. Heathcliff, serving at the house in a lowest position, was deeply hurt by Catherine‟s change. As time goes, the son of the Linton couple, Edgar Linton grew fondness to Catherine and finally proposed to her. Catherine was hesitating. She was too young and too shallow to understand her true love for Heathcliff.At that night he leave the Wuthering Heights, Heathcliff, serving at the house in a lowest position, have nothing at all, in addition to deeply hurt by Catherine‟s change and physically broken by a desperate love. When Heathcliff backed, he was a whole other man, a man strong enough to destroy all the barriers ahead of his love. He began to revenge madly, revenge is the only reason for all his life. He used trick to make Hendry bankruptcy, and kill him by kick and trample.
Catherine‟s feelings for Heathcliff were actually true love, the most passionate love I have ever seen. She claimed to share the same value and ways of love. As pleasant as Linton would make her, she could still sense the feeling of imposition. It was like a guilty soul got call up to heaven. Happy as it is, but never at peace. She cried for the misfortune happened to Heathcliff, frown for the pain that he was suffering. Even though she admitted that he was low, she chose to fell for him regardless of anything. „He's more myself than I am,‟ she said, „Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.‟The love between Catherine and Heathcliff was like fire, burning inside their hearts. Anything tempting to stop this emotion would be burnt down to ash. Heathcliff destroy all the barriers ahead of his love. He did not care even on bit about the others except Catherine. They love each other only for the reason that they are just two people portrayed out of the same flesh and bones with the same soul. This love is pure and valuable, but overwhelming for the world, even for themselves.
Finally, at Catherine‟s funeral, Heathcliff picked out Edgar‟s hair and put his
together with her. However when he was away, Catherine‟s daughter again picked up the hair of Edgar and put it back. The hair of the three people tangled and could not be separated. I suppose that this description is for the symbolic meaning that the two kinds of love were of equal important in the lady‟s life. They may not appear in the same way or of the same base, but they are all love. In the end, after their death, „the three headstones on the slope next the moor: on middle one grey, and half buried in the heath; Edgar Linton‟s only harmonized by the turf and moss creeping up its foot; Heathcliff‟s still bare.‟ The sleepers underground were finally in peace, but the rivalry of two kinds of loves continued, and the choice once Catherine made will keeping on bothering different people.
We can see that Heathcliff's revenge is targeted. His revenge is a answer of physical abuse and discrimination for his years, rather than indiscriminately the abuse of tyranny. “On the surface, his revenge seems to be his own personal grudge, In fact, this is the total outbreak of emotional distress for his years. In a sense, it is the uncontrollable anger and protest of author for the secular. ”[2] The success of revenge did not bring him happiness. Consequently in a stormy night, Heathcliff quietly ended his life.Heathcliff‟s crime is unforgivable, but finally he got most of the readers‟forgive, this is exactly why? Because the readers know that he is not only a crazy avenger , but also a spoony lovers, his hate and revenge for all around comes from his stricken love. He said:” Two words can summarize my future: Death and hell. If I lost her, I am in hell even if I am alive.”[3] Reference:
[1] Zhihong Ge. The Modern Socialist Elements of “Wuthering Heights”[J]. Foreign Literature
Review,1992,(4).
[2] Hongzhong Liao. The Analysis of Literary Creation of Emily Bronte[J]. Journal of
Jiangxi University(Social Science Edition),1992,(4).
[3] Wuthering Heights. Yilin Press,1990.
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